Shepard's Child
by Kyleto211
Summary: This story takes place directly after the destroy ending of Mass Effect 3. Ashley discovers that she is pregnant with Shepard's child, and struggles with coping with Shepard's death, her pregnancy, an old flame of Shepard's, and the death of crew members, who have become family to her. Rated T for violence, language, and mild sexual content. Reviews are encouraged!
1. Chapter 1- The Oculus

Ashley stood at the bridge, her eyes staring intently at the Citadel. She knew this when everything crystallized, and The Reapers were finally destroyed. She winced as she moved her arm, which had been injured on Earth. _That is what you get for trying to stay with Shepard. Seriously, Ash, you were being blasted at by Harbinger! _

Ashley nearly toppled as Joker pulled some insane maneuvers to dodge Reaper attacks. "Joker, can't this thing move a bit smoother?" Ashley asked, unintentionally sounding a bit rude.

"I suppose you want to be Reaper chow then, Ash! Suck it up!" Ashley shot him a cold stare, and Joker added, "Suck it up… ma'am." The Normandy shook as a laser blast hit the portside. Ashley looked outside to see a Reaper charging another blast.

"Jeff, I suggest you evade the Reaper!" EDI called out from the seat next to the flight lieutenant's.

"Yeah, I see it E-" The ship shook a second time from The Reaper's mighty laser. James ran up to the bridge, even though he had a cast on his leg.

"Joker, that Reaper tore a hole in the cargo hold! It sent one of its big drone things inside!" Joker sighed as he remembered the Oculus from the suicide mission.

"Somebody's going to have to take it out. Who's fit for a fight?"

Ashley and EDI both said, "I am!"

"You can't do this alone. You are going to need some extra help. Tali, Liara, how are you holding up?" Joker asked over the intercom.

"I can fight! Why?" Liara responded.

"I can too, Joker." Tali replied.

"An Oculus boarded in the cargo hold." Joker flipped the ship around to attack a Reaper.

"Nostalgia!" Tali said with a laugh. "Meet you guys down there."

Ashley raced to the elevator with EDI. She frantically pressed the button, and it opened. EDI pressed the button for the Cargo Bay, and they waited. "EDI, my equipment is in the Armory down there. What if I got hit, I don't even have shields!"

"If need be, Ashley, I will provide cover while you recover your equipment." EDI said in her matter of fact tone.

"Thanks, EDI." Ashley said as the elevator opened. Liara and Tali were already taking the Oculus on. Tali fired a shotgun blast at it, while Liara held it in place with biotics. The Oculus fired, causing an explosion near Tali.

"Keelah! I think I've got a rupture! EDI, cover me while I apply antibiotics and clamp it!" Tali yelled.

"Yes, Tali." EDI fired her Locust SMG at the Oculus, who'd only lost half of its shields. Ashley made it to the Armory, got her armor on, and grabbed her Revenant Assault rifle and modded it with Disruptor Ammo.

She fired a steady stream of bullets at the machine, but it didn't stagger. Tali deployed a tech overload on the Oculus, and Ashley's Omni-tool readings of its shields lowered.

"Deploying Combat Drone!" Tali said as she fired her Eviscerator Shotgun at the Oculus. The drone distracted the Oculus, and it directed its fire at it. Everyone fired on it, and its shields overloaded.

"Shit, it's got armor!" Ashley yelled, tossing an incendiary grenade towards it. Its armor burst into flames, and EDI deployed incineration tech on it. Liara fired at it, and then warped its armor. One well-placed shot by Tali later, and its armor fell off.

"Keep it off me! I can probably hack it!" Tali said, pulling out an Omni-tool. Ashley nodded, firing at it a few more times.

"The damn encryption is too strong. EDI, can't your cyber warfare suites do anything?"

EDI nodded, and said, "Since the Oculus can be considered a vessel, I can override its systems, causing it to explode. Warning: the blast radius is large." After a few seconds, she added, "I have overridden its systems. Head to cover!"

Ashley, Tali, and EDI took cover behind a crate, and Liara created a biotic force field to cover them. The Oculus exploded with tremendous force, but Liara's field didn't stagger.

"I could probably shore up the holes in the hull with some scrap metal," Liara said as she lifted a piece of debris, and placed it on the hole. She did this until the Normandy was covered. It was shoddy work, but it got the job done.

"Come on, we need to get back up-" Ashley was cut off mid-sentence by Javik running out of the elevator.

"Miss Williams! The Crucible has activated!" Ashley's eyes widened. "Commander Shepard has made it to the Citadel." Javik added, mimicking her own thoughts. Ashley ran to the elevator, whishing past Javik. She _needed_ to see this.


	2. Chapter 2- Damage

**NOTE TO THE READER: **In this Fanfiction, Tali and Garrus do not develop a relationship, and Chakwas is chosen over Dr. Michel.

Ashley watched as the Crucible started to glow a deep red. She heard Admiral Hackett announce over the intercom, "All fleets, the Crucible is armed. Disengage, and head to the rendezvous point. I repeat: disengage, and get the hell out of there!"

Garrus put his hand on Joker's shoulder and said, "Listen, we have to go." Joker looked at him with hesitation, and down at the controls.

"Damn it." Was his response. He began to pilot the ship away from the Citadel. Ships from other fleets were going into FTL to get away from the bright red blast of the Crucible. The blast was slowly gaining on The Normandy, and eventually the ship was rocked, and Ashley fell over, and hit her head hard on the floor.

Ashley woke up to find the Normandy's bridge destroyed. Wires hung from the ceiling, there were gaping holes in the hull, and all the equipment was sparking. She gripped her head in pain, and thought, _What happened? What the hell did I hit my head on? _She looked over to see Joker on the ground next to his seat, and EDI as well. Ashley attempted to flip herself over to crawl, but she was too weak.

All the sudden, she felt a three-fingered hand reach for hers. Ashley looked up to see Garrus. "Come on, Ash." He said, pulling her up.

"Garrus, why aren't you all banged up?" Ashley asked, barely standing without the turian's help.

"Well, I didn't fall on my head, and, I have heavy armor on." Garrus replied.

"Everything happens to me, Vakarian."

"Yup."

"That's real polite. Laugh at my pain…"

"Quit complaining, Ash. You know my humor."

"Damned if I didn't. Where is everyone?" Ash asked, looking around. She only saw Joker, and Garrus.

"Probably throughout the ship. I'd go looking, but you can't stand without me."

"I feel a little better. I'll sit here, and wait." Ashley said, sitting on a chair.

Garrus walked out the door of the bridge, and took in his surroundings. It was worse in the CIC than the bridge! Sparking equipment, fires, loose wires, gaping holes, you name it, and it's there.

When Garrus approached the elevator, he heard a weak voice call out to him

"Garrus… Help me." He looked down to see Traynor, bruised, bloody, and under a sheet of metal.

Vakarian flipped the metal off of her, and helped her up. "Samantha? Are you okay?"

"Not really. I think I broke my leg. And my wrist. And a few ribs." She started coughing, and Garrus helped her the steps leading to the Galaxy Map. I got up, and limped over to the situation.

"Listen. Stay here, I'm going to find Chakwas." Traynor nodded, and Garrus entered the elevator. "See if there's any medi-gel with you, Ashley."

I nodded, and checked my Omni-tool, which I'm surprised still works. I find no medi-gel, and curse under my breath. "Sorry, Sam. I don't have any medi-gel for you." I said.

"It's fine, Miss Williams. I can-" she winced at the pain, clenching her teeth tightly. "I can manage."

"I'm not quite sure about that. And for the last time, please call me Ashley."

"I'm sorry. I'm so used to formalities, unfortunately."

"I'm not very formal." I sit down next to Traynor on the steps to the Galaxy Map. Countless times I've seen Shepard standing at the top, deciding where to go next. I've always been very indecisive about a lot of things, but Shepard was different. His decisions have made huge impacts on the galaxy more than once, and I can't even decide what I want from the mess hall half the time. "Have you seen the others?"

"In my time underneath a giant piece of metal? No. After I woke up, you, Garrus, Tali have been the only people I've seen."

"You saw Tali?" I hadn't seen Tali since we'd fought the Oculus.

"Yes. She was on her way to the War Room earlier."

"I'm gonna go look there." I said, getting up.

"I thought Garrus told us to stay here."

"I'm just going down the hall. We'll be fine.

"Okay then. I'll just shut my eyes for a moment then." She did so, and I walked to the doorway where the two privates, Westmoreland and Campbell would scan you as you walked in and out. It was irritating, and this never happened on the SR-1. I learned to live with it in time, listening to the two young girls bicker about this and that.

The two privates, however, were not there when I walked in. They had joined the assault on Earth, and no one knows what happened to them.

When I entered the War Room, I saw Tali standing over the Quantum Entanglement Communicator, trying to make sense of the damage to it. I approached Tali, who I now noticed sobbing softly. "Keelah… I should have said something, before he left for the Citadel. Damn it…"

"Tali?" I called out to her.

"Ashley." She said, rather flatly. "What do you want?"

"Traynor said you were in here. I came to check." Something was up.

"Yes, I'm here." She took a deep breath, and turned towards me. " I need to tell you something."

"What is it?' I asked, walking closer to her.

"I loved Shepard."


	3. Chapter 3-Shuttle Bay

**NOTE TO THE READER**: SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING WHEN I SAID I WOULD! To compensate, I added a fancy book cover! Reviews are strongly encouraged. How will I know how to improve if I don't know what I'm doing wrong? Thank you to Quillyquill19, DylanZerp, and cheernerd7 for the review! :)

I was shocked. "You loved Shepard?" I asked.

"Yes, Ashley, I did. He was always so kind to me, and didn't care that I was a Quarian." She looked at me, and through her visor I could see a look of exasperation on her face. This stung me, since she knew I wasn't too trustful toward other races. It wasn't because I was xenophobic, however. It was just a lack of understanding. I've adjusted better to Garrus, Wrex, and Liara, but never much to Tali. I feel bad for this, but it wasn't intentional.

"Tali, I'm sorry I never really got to know you. I wasn't trying, it just never happened."

"You think this is about your xenophobia?" She said, her face growing even more intense.

"I am not xenophobic! If I was, I wouldn't even talk to you, or Garrus, or any non-human crew members." I took a deep breath. "What is this about then, Tali? What is it?"

"Like I said, I loved Shepard, and now… Now he may not even be alive!" I suddenly felt a shiver go through my spine, and my eyes widened, and my heart sped up.

"What?" I nearly fell over. "Tali, what are you talking about?"

"I'm saying Shepard might not even be alive. The Citadel was nearly destroyed by the Crucible blast, and he might have been killed in the blast." I felt as though my feet were no longer supporting my legs, and I fell over, hitting the cold metal floor.

"Keelah! Ashley, are you alright?" I heard Tali, but I couldn't respond. Nothing felt right about me. Everybody was missing, Shepard could be dead, and now I'm wreck. "Ashley! Talk to me!" I heard three sets of footsteps enter the War Room. I glanced up to see Garrus, Chakwas and Liara.

The Asari approached me, and said "Ashley, you need to get up. Joker and EDI will need us to repair the ship, and find the others." Something about Liara's soothing voice influenced me to get up.

"Where is everybody?" I moaned, feeling like shit. "I need to sit down." Garrus helps me over to a chair, and I sit.

"We don't know where Javik or James are. The engineers are trying to fix the mass effect core, but that isn't going too well." Garrus said. "Chakwas patched up everyone except you." Dr. Chakwas approaches, and applies medi-gel on the big gash on my head. The cooling medicine makes me feel much better. "We never checked the Shuttle to join us?"

I nodded, and we walked to the elevator. Everybody piled in, and Liara pressed the button to take us to the Shuttle Bay. The elevator worked for a moment, and suddenly plummeted all the way to the bottom, with a crash.

I thought my head had hurt earlier, but now it was downright unbearable. I looked over to see Garrus rubbing his head, and Liara applying medi-gel to Chakwas. Tali seemed unaffected… lucky bitch.

"Everyone okay?" Tali asked, pulling out her Omni-tool.

"Besides possible head trauma, fine." I responded. I got up with a grunt, and extended my hand to help up Garrus. "Switching roles, eh, Vakarian?"

"Ha ha." Garrus said flatly. Liara and Chakwas then got up, and Tali examined the elevator controls. It was pitch black, except for the glowing of Tali's exo-suit. If there was anything I liked about Quarians, it was that their suits were beautiful. If only they could wear them under better circumstances.

"The system is fried, and I can't open the door." Tali said. "We might be able to force it open. How are you holding up, Garrus?"

The turian stretched his arms in the air and yawned. "Pretty decent. I should be able to." He approached the door, and stuck his fingers in the crack of the door. He manages to move it about 15 centimeters, but not much more. "Damn it. Ash, give me a hand with this." I get up, ignoring the pain, and assist Garrus. We manage to open it enough for Liara to maybe be able to slip through, but no one else.

"Liara, can you get through?" I asked, my voice strained from pushing against the door.

"Possibly." She creates a biotic field around herself, and squeezes through the crack. "The controls on this side work. I can see if I can activate it." After a few moments, the door opens, and I breathe a sigh of relief. We all go through the door to find one of the shuttles completely destroyed, while the other is rather damaged, but still intact.

As if out of nowhere, a figure steps out of the shadows.

"Ay dios mio," he said. "Where were you guys?" It was James.

"We were looking for you. Where's Javik?" I ask, approaching him.

"I think he's around here somewhere." He looks around, and yawns. "I'm tired. Where's Joker?"

"On the bridge passed out last time I saw him." I said.

"Let's head on up then!"

"Easy there, Vega. We still need to find Javik." Garrus said, putting a hand on James's shoulder. Suddenly, I hear a clang as a piece of metal hits the floor. I look over to see Javik stepping out of the shuttle. I forgot Javik had been with me when I was on Earth with Shepard. Guess my head is getting to me. "Nevermind."

The prothean approached us, clutching his side. "Is Ms. Chakwas with you?" He asked, looking in pain, which I hadn't seen from Javik. He seemed like a pretty sturdy person. Chakwas stepped in front of him, and inspected his wound: a piece of glass from the shuttle embedded into his side. I wouldn't even be standing right now, let alone climbing out of a shuttle and walking 20 feet.

"It's pretty bad. We need to get to the Med-bay to treat this. Come on, Ja-" She was cut off by the opening of the elevator doors. A thin, frail figure stood there. He hobbled out of the dark elevator, and it was Joker, who was in tears.


End file.
